Major 'Chicago P.D.' Star to Exit After Season 11

Detective Hailey Upton is leaving the Intelligence Unit. Variety exclusively reports that Tracy Spiridakos will be exiting Chicago P.D. after its upcoming 11th season. As of now, it's unclear how many episodes the actress will be in, especially with the cut episode order after the SAG-AFTRA strike eventually comes to an end. Production has started on Season 11 of the NBC drama, as well as other Dick Wolf series. So it's very possible that the writers are currently planning out how to say goodbye to Hailey.

Spiridakos joined Chicago P.D. towards the end of Season 4 as a homicide detective. She joined as a series regular for Season 5, replacing Sophia Bush's Erin Lindsay after her departure. Spiridakos quickly became a fan-favorite and caught the eye of fellow detective, Jay Halstead. The two characters got engaged and had a fairly quick and spontaneous wedding in Season 9, but the passion was all still there. After Jesse Lee Soffer left at the beginning of Season 10, it was a question of whether Spiridakos would soon follow. Especially since Jay kept extending his leave and the bond between him and Hailey was fading.

Whenever Spiridakos does leave Chicago P.D., it's hard to tell how her exit will go. There's always the possibility Soffer could make a cameo to help his on-screen wife say goodbye. That could also give proper closure to Upstead. He's previously said the door isn't closed on a return. He did direct an episode of Season 10 after his departure, so you never know what could happen. Hopefully, they do bring him back just to give closure to not only Upstead but Jay and Hailey as well. Information on the departure probably won't come out until closer to the episode, or at the very least, after the SAG-AFTRA strike comes to an end.

Hailey's exit is not the only thing that fans will have to worry about for Chicago P.D. Season 11. Season 10 ended with Patrick John Flueger's Adam Ruzek getting shot by a little boy and rushed to the hospital. While losing both Adam and Hailey in the same season would not be ideal, it's also just what Chicago P.D. would do to keep fans on the edge. Hopefully, we won't have to say goodbye to Adam anytime soon, especially after all the trauma that Marina Squerciati's Kim Burgess has been through. Fans will just have to tune in next year to see what happens. It could be a while until the series comes back, so at least they won't have to say goodbye to Hailey Upton just yet.